Adjustable golf club



Jan. 24, 1950 P. A. CHAMBERLAIN EIAL 2,495,444

ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB I Filed April 1, 1948 .Paial CZ. CALL ClarenceNauraizll Patented Jan. '24, 1950 ADJUSTABLE GOLF CLUB Paul A.Chamberlain, Chicago, and Clarence Navratil, Elmwood Park, Ill.,assignors to Willard E. Romoser, Benton Harbor, Mich.

Application April 1, 1948; Serial No. 18,346

3 Claims. (Cl. 273-79) This invention relates to an adjustable golfclub.

It is well known among golfers that the quality of play of the game maybe improved, by those having ordinary proficiency thereat, by a varietyof clubs, each for a slightly different purpose or lay of the ball, andcommonly including as many as ten different clubs of what is known asirons, from No. l or driving iron to a No. 9 or niblick, and even toputter, which may be referred to as a No. 10, each having a differentangulation of the club head or blade with respect to the shaft. Theprovision of such a large number of relatively heavy iron clubs isexpensive and requires a large and heavy bag for carrying purposes,which again may dictate the use of a wheeled vehicle for itstransportation around the course.

Attempts have been made to provide an adjustable blade golf club in thepast, but they have been found unsatisfactory for many reasons, one ofthe chief of which has been that the blade securing means has tended towear and for this and other reasons the blade would not maintain itsadjusted position but would become loose frequently in the course of astroke, with disastrous results to the latter.

The present invention aims to provide an improved club of this typewhich may be accurately and economically manufactured in largequantities at a minimum cost, having a minimum number of parts, andwhich will remain securely in adjusted position by reason of novellocking means, wear in the latter being automatically compensated forand taken up, while at the same time the blade may be readily andpositively loosened when desired, provision, furthermore, being made forautomatic adjustment of the angle of the shaft with respect to the loweredge of the blade face coincident with variations in the angle of theblade face with respect to the shaft.

These and other objects and advantages will be understood by referenceto the following description, taken together with the accompanyingdrawings, of an illustrative embodiment of the invention; and inwhichdrawings- Figure 1 is an elevational view, parts being shown in sectionfor clearness of description, and the upper end of the shaft beingdiscontinued to save space, of an adjustable golf club following thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a top or plan view of the structure of Fig. 1; a

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing a different angularposition of the blade with respect to the shaft; 1

Figure 4 is a top or plan view of the parts shown as in elevation inFig. 3: I

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to the section in Fig.1 but showing the parts in an alternative position;-

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the shaft and blade showingcooperative indicia thereon for indicating various differentadjustments; Figure 7 is a view of the preferred form of tool forloosening and tightening the blade; and

Figure 8 is a reduced end view of a portion of the shaft where attachedto the blade.

Referring in detail to the illustrative construction shown in thedrawings, the numeral II indicates a golf club head or blade for'so-called iron club, having the conventional face 12. As best seen inFig. 2 the blade is built up or thick ened as at l3 back of its loweredge 14 to give weight and balance thereat. I I

In accordance with the present invention, the rear face of the blade isbossed as at l5 at its end adjacent the club shaft l6 and the boss I5 isreamed as at I! to provide a conoidal recess in the boss, this recessbeing further continued inwardly of the blade as a threaded screw-holeIS.

The club shaft l6 has a hub portion 19 at its lower end which has alateral conoidal stud or hub extension 20, the latter being snuglyreceived in the conoidal recess "of the blade. Means for clamping theblade onto said hub portion 20 of the shaft hub are here provided suchas the screw 2| which passes freely through a perforation 22 runningaxially through the hub l9 and hub extension 20. The outer end of thisperforation 22 is shown counterbored as at 23 and the screw bolt orscrew 2| has a cylindrical head 24 which is rotatable in thiscounterbore bringing-the outer end of the screw head 24 substantiallyflush with the outer face of the hub IS. The inner end of the screw 2!is threaded as at '25 to mate with the threads of the threadedscrew-hole 18 of the blade recess. 1 Y

' At the end of the screw 2| opposite' its head 22 and adjacent theinner end of the hub conoidal extension 20 the screw is provided witha-periphera] groove 26 in which is received an abutment collar 21. Inthis-instance the collar 2l'is of round cross section to'mate with thearcuate groove 26 and is in the form of a resilient splitring which maybe snappedinto the groove 26 after the screw 21 is inserted; inthe'perforation 22 of the-shaft hub. 'Adj'acent the collar 2'! the hubperforation 22 is counterbored slightly as at 28 to receive the collar21 in an alternative 3 position of the parts for a purpose later pointedout.

The screw 2| is advantageously of the so-called Allen type having thepolygonal socket 29 in its head 2 which socket receives the bent end 3i]of a so-called Allen or polygonal-type wrench 3|. The wrench 3idesirably has a bulbous-shape handle 32 thereon which conveniently fitsthe palm of the players hand for enhanced comfort and leverage in theapplication thereof.

When it is desired to clamp the blade H and shaft l6 together at a givenangle for the face of the blade with respect to the shaft, as shown inFigure l the wrench 3! may have its bent end 30 applied to the screw 2!and the screw rotated in a clockwise direction (looking in a directionfacing the end of the screw socket 29) which draws the blade toward theshaft and wedges the shaft hub extension 25 in the blade conoidal recessll. The mating walls of the conoidal recess H and conoidal extension 2edefine an included angle for a conoid of the order of 20 degrees orless. By included angle is meant the angle described at the intersectionof projections of lines drawn parallel with the conical surface at twodiametrically opposite points thereon. Angles of this order have beenfound to give the best results in locking the blade and shaft, since amaximum of wedging action is obtained combined with a minimum of travelof the blade on the hub as between the unlocked or rotative position ofthe blade on the shaft and the locked or non-rotative position. Anglesof greater than say 30 degrees We have found do not hold well enough andangles of less than say 15 degrees are troublesome to release. Hence,advantageously relatively little actuation of the wrench when applied tothe screw 2! is necessary to lock or unlock the blade. At the same timeconsiderable leverage may be exerted which will lock the blade and shaftsecurely together against accidental dislodgement. Furthermore, theconstruction just described is such as to compensate for wear ortolerances in manufacturing dimensions of the parts by reason of thesubstantial area of contact of the blade and shaft and the optimum ofwedging action therebetween while at the same time the blade is readilyand easily rotated on the shaft hub to adjust it to varying angularpositions for the face of the blade with respect to the shaft when suchadjustment is desired, as for example when the player proceeds from onelay of the ball to another different lay, in progress along the course.

When it is desired to loosen the blade for adjustment as referred to,the wrench 3| (which may in the meantime be carried in the pocket of theplayer) is applied to the screw 2i with the bent end 30 of the wrenchinserted in the polygonal socket 29 of the screw head, and, by means ofthe wrench, the screw rotated in a counterclockwise direction. As bestseen in Fig. 5, if the blade should stick on the hub, the collar 21which abuts the inner end of the hub extension at will force the latteroutwardly of the recess ll in the blade as the screw is turned in adirection tending to force the blade and hub apart. When the collar 21comes into action for this purpose and relative axial movementconsequently occurs beto hold the collar in the groove 26 of the screwand prevent radial expansion of the collar, which, being in the form ofa split ring as shown, might otherwise be forced out of the groove 26.Thus the collar is employed as an abutment to force axial movement ofthe hub concurrently with axial movement of the screw with respect tothe blade to separate the blade and hub sufficiently to permit rotativemovement of the blade on the hub for selective angular adjustment of theblade. It also prevents accidental separation of the shaft and screw.

As shown in Fig. 6 the hub l9 adjacent the outer end of the conoidalextension 28 thereof may conveniently carry indicia such as a series ofnumbered lines indicated at 3A, arranged on the arcuate face of the hubconcentric with the axis thereof and extending in the direction of thelatter, with which is adapted to register a line or arrow 35 on the back36 of the blade ll, the arrow 35 being conveniently located on the bladeboss it.

In the position of the blade with respect to the shaft shown in Figs. 1and 2, it may be assumed that the blade face !2 and shaft [5 are exactlyparallel. This would be a position for the blade not used in actualplay. If, now, the club be desired to be used as a putter (or what ishere called a No. 10 iron) the blade may be first loosened as alreadydescribed and then rotated so as to bring the arrow 35 on the blade intoregister with the line numbered Iii of the indicia lines 34, asillustrated in Fig. 6 and the blade then locked in that position asdescribed. The parts are constructed so that blade face then occupies anangle with respect to the shaft of 5 degrees. Similarly, if the club bedesired to be used as a driving iron or No. 1 iron, the blade may beloosened and the arrow 35 brought into register with the line numbered iof the indicia lines 34. The parts are constructed so that here the faceE2 of the blade would be at an angle of 15 degrees with respect to theshaft. The remaining differential adjustments of angle for the blade areincrements of approximately 5 degrees apart up to and including theadjustment for a No. 9 iron, i. e., position No. 2 is for midiron, No. 3for mid mashie, No. 4 for mashie iron, No. 5 for mashie, No. 6 formashie niblick, No. '7 for pitcher, and No. 8 for itching niblick.

In the relative positions of the blade and shaft shown in Figs. 3 and 4of the drawings which might be for use of the club, say, as a niblick orNo. 9 iron, and proportionately in intermediate positions for use of theclub as a mashie or the like, provision is made by the present inventionfor automatic adjustment of the angle of the shaft with respect to thelower edge 54 of the blade face concurrently with selective adjustmentof the angle of the blade face with respect to the shaft. To accomplishthis, as here shown, the axis of the blade recess including the conoidalrecess I7 and the screw-hole extension i 8 is on an angle to the face ofthe blade and coincident with a line which would intersect the plane ofthe blade face. As shown in Fig. 2, this line, indicated by the numeral31, is at an angle x with respect to the blade face and which angle isof the order of about 5 degrees. Thus as the blade is rotated to variousadjusted positions from, say, the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shownin Fig. 4, where the club serves for example as a niblick, the angle ofthe shaft IS with respect to the lower edge Hi of the blade is increasedslightly to accommodate itself to the more inclined position of theblade as shown in Fig. 3, and affording a shorter distance from theground level to the grip of the shaft (in the drawings the grip isomitted to save space). In other words, the angle y (Fig. 3 between theedge [4 and the shaft I6 is slightly greater in Fig. 3, than it is,-say, in Fig. 1 where the face of the blade is parallel with the shaft.

As best seen in Fig. 8, the center line of the shaft indicated at 16a isslightly off center to the center I9a of the hub I9 thus placing theshaft slightly eccentric to the hub and slightly forward of a lineparallel to the shaft intersecting the hub center. This desirably servesto improve the balance of the club and the relationship of the shaft andblade in all of the adjusted positions of the latter.

The wrench handle 32 may have a hole 38 therein by which it may be tiedto a golf bag if desired.

The shaft and blade may be made of suitable steel for the purpose,having the desired strength and modulus of elasticity, for examplesufficiently high to prevent relaxing of the mating parts and avoidingany substantial change of the club setting. Non-galling steels such asCarpenter stainless steel No. 5 are here preferred for the parts. Bothparts after machining are desirably quenched in oil from 1825 degrees F.and the shaft tempered by drawing at 400 F. and the blade at 800 F.Hence the shaft is harder than the blade and this dissimilarityminimizes tendency to gall or seize which might otherwise cause stickingof the parts when the screw is released. Moreover, the shaft beingharder avoids tendency of the shankv portion under the head of the screwto close in on the screw when the latter is tightened.

As here constructed and arranged, the female component of the hub andrecess arrangement is in the head or blade of the club, thus minimizingthe size of the shaft hub portion and keeping the weight toward thecenter of percussion of they head as is desirable for good balance andclub action. Furthermore, the smooth conoids of the interengagingpartsnot only permitinfinite variations but avoid fixed settings (as by teethor the like (which would be subject to wear and dislodgement.

It is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limitedto details of construction shown for purposes of illustration and thatsuch changes may be made in embodiments thereof as fall within the scopeof the appended claims without departing from the invention.

The invention having been described, what is here claimed is:

1. An adjustable golf club, comprising, in combination, a blade, a shafttherefor, a conoidal recess in the blade, a conoidal hub on the shaftselectively received in said recess, a screw passing through said huband said recess and threadedly received ina threaded extension of saidrecess for clamping the hub and blade together, and a collar on saidscrew adjacent the inner end of said hub arranged to abut the hub whenthe screw is released to free the hub from the recess.

2. An adjustable golf club comprising in combination, a blade and aseparable shaft therefor, a substantially smooth surfaced conoidalrecess in the. blade, a substantially smooth surfaced conoidal hubcarried by the shaft snugly received in said recess, the conoid definedthereby having an included angle of substantially twenty degrees, and ascrew passing through said hub and recess and threadedly received in aninner extension of said recess, and interengaging abutment means on thescrew and hub to cause the screw when released to free the hub from therecess, said hub having a counterbore receiving the screw headrotatab-ly and substantially flush with the adjacent outer face of thehub.

3. An adjustablegolf club comprising in combination, a blade and aseparable shaft therefor, a conoidal recess in the blade, a conoidal hubcarried by the shaft snugly received in said recess, a screw passingthrough said hub and recess and threadedly received in an extension ofsaid recess, and a collar on said screw adjacent the inner end of saidrecess arranged to abut the hub when the screw is released to free thehub from the recess, wherein there is a counterbore in the inner end ofsaid hub for receiving the collar in the last mentioned position of theparts to cause the hub to grip the collar.

PAUL A. CHAMBERLAIN. CLARENCE NAVRATIL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date I 776,368 Urguhart et al Nov. 29,1904 1,058,463 Pringle Apr. 8, 1913 1,135,621 Roberts et al Apr. 13,1915 1,179,060 Williamson Apr. 11, 1916 1,578,311 Grossett Mar. 20, 19261,713,158 Anderson May 14, 1929 2,217,338 Fuller Oct. 8, 1940 2,254,528Hoare Sept. 2, 1941 2,329,313 Winter Sept. 14, 1943

